A South Seas tan. (photo courtesy of South Seas)

I’m not going to pretend life is hard as an editor  forced to review to facials and airbrush tans for the job, but I’ve been through my fair share of mediocre treatments and tan jobs ala Oompa-Loompa. But I love risking my body for the price of potential orange streaks so that I can tell you, dear readers, which treatments to try and which treatments aren’t worth the dough. Three services you must enjoy: Natura Bissé Aroma Awakening facial at The Spa at the Ritz-Carlton and the airbrush tan and Da Vinci one-hour teeth whitening at Facelogic.

Jump for details.

Natura Bissé Aroma Awakening Facial at The Spa at the Ritz-Carlton
Three new facials have been added to the Ritz-Carlton’s lineup thanks to the launch of Natura Bissé in the spa: the Aroma Awakening for 50 minutes, La Alternativa wrinkle-relaxer for 80 minutes, and the Diamond Multisensorial Lifting for 90 minutes. I can vouch for the power of the Aroma Awakening facial. It’s not so much a skin treatment as a 50-minute slice of peace. Combining facial reflexology and Ayurvedic aromatherapy, it’s truly blissful, which is really what I want most out of a spa trip. The facial massage dulled my stress (and left me nicer, quite frankly), and the floral facial bath and cleansing left me with a beautiful glow I didn’t even cover up with makeup. Book by calling the Ritz-Carlton.

60 minute Da Vinci teeth whitening session and airbrush tan at Facelogic
Sure Facelogic staffers are experts on all things face, but they’re quite good at sunless tanning and teeth whitening, too, as it turns out. The two services are perfect for vacation preparation in a snap. (Forget the detox dieting–a tan and a teeth bleach is easier.) The airbrushing, performed expertly by spa coordinator Nicole Barton is a paraben-free formula from South Seas Skincare. Although the typical aftermath includes that sunless tan smell and temporary sticky skin, I was pleasantly surprised by the near-perfect even application and natural looking color. Although there’s nothing natural about getting a Caribbean tan overnight, the ladies at D headquarters swear they’d never know I’m a fraud. (Even they hadn’t seen me glowing in the dark the day before.)

The Da Vinci teeth whitening is even more impressive. Just 60 minutes took my teeth up a few bright notches. (My teeth are fairly white to begin with, but the technician told me moving five shades brighter is a fairly common result for stained teeth.) The hook for me is Da Vinci’s claim not to break down enamel (instead, helping to rebuild it) and organic ingredients. I won’t lie to you, 60 minutes of having teeth under a laser light show (and the preparation between each 20-minute round) can be boring, but I snoozed (okay, snored) through each session. My teeth are noticeably whiter, and even though I felt a little sensitivity for a day, I’m thrilled. Book by calling Facelogic.

Think you’ll die without your golden bronze this summer? Get an airbrush tan. Continue reading for our very favorite sunless tans in Dallas.

These golden glows get gold stars:

Bronze & Beautiful (read the review) *mobile
The Beauti Studio (formerly Studio Cava – read the review)
The Spa at the Crescent (read the review)
The Tan Bar
Luxury on Lovers
Spa Nordstrom
Riviera Spa
B Tan
Equinox
Haus of Beauté (read the review)

photography courtesy of salassunless.com

Remember when we told you about our beautiful, golden glow from Salas Sunless in Colleyville? (We even gave them best sunless tan in Dallas in 2010.) We whined about our long drive, but loved every day of our just-right tan. Now we can enjoy one of these spray-and-gos more often. Salas Sunless is now open for business here in Dallas. (Find them across from the Plaza at Preston Center, off Preston.) The formulas here are organic and be customized to your skin tone. I’ll admit that aside from location, price was other complaint, but that’s no longer a problem either. Cost per tan has been dropped to $45 a pop!

What does your tan say? "I vacation in the Carribean" or "I have agoraphobia"?

Jacy Rader from sunless tanning company, Bronze & Beautiful, who won our Best of Big D Sunless Tan category, has offered up an airbrush tan for giving away on ShopTalk today. I’m thrilled because both Kristin and I love this formula (and Jacy) and I know you will, too. Here’s our review:

Spray tans in Dallas exist by the dozens, but none are as easy and beautiful as this one. Adorable Jacy Rader sets up shop in your home. She’ll airbrush your pallor away using a formula she’s customized to your skin tone and then leave you with instructions for maintaining your beautiful new bronze. All for $50.

Now, to win this prize (yes, she’ll come to your home if you live in the Dallas area), enter here. All you have to tell us, in ONE sentence, why you need this airbrush tan.

Kristin peeks over the tent in my teeny tiny (messy) kitchen.

That’s what Kristin and I did on Monday. Jacy, co-owner of Bronze & Beautiful mobile airbrush tanning company, came over to give us a glow while we drank champagne (and I munched on Whole Foods’ mock chicken salad–obsessed). It was the easiest thing in the world . We took turns stripping down and stepping into the tanning tent that Jacy set up in the kitchen. The formula comes in a green/blue tone so orange is out of the question. Each tan is customized to your skin tone, so you can ask for a just-got-back-from-a-pool-side-brunch-in-LA look or a don’t-be-jealous-that-I-spent-a-week-in-the-Bahamas look. You’ll see it right away, but let it do its thing over night, and you’ll wake up with an even richer tan. Shall we move onto the price? $50. Yep. That’s all. If you live across the world (talking to you, Plano, McKinney, etc.), the price jumps up to $75, but add a couple extra people looking to do some pale body control, and you’ll get discounts for each additional glow-in-the-dark hiney. Sent the ladies a note at info@bronzeandbeautifultan.com or call 817-880-4383 to set something up.